Legendary German marque seeking development partnership with electric hypercar startup.

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Porsche AG has purchased a 10 per cent stake in Croatian electric startup Rimac Automobili, creators of the Concept One and C_Two EV hypercars.

The German sports car specialist made the announcement overnight, and says it plans to enter a "close collaboration" with the up and coming EV brand.

"By developing the purely electric two-seaters super sports cars, like the ‘Concept One’ or ‘C Two’, as well as core vehicle systems, Rimac has impressively demonstrated its credentials in the field of electromobility," said Lutz Meschke, deputy chairman of the executive board at Porsche.

"We feel that Rimac’s ideas and approaches are extremely promising, which is why we hope to enter into close collaboration with the company in the form of a development partnership."

Rimac's main focus is high-voltage battery technology, electric powertrains and the development of digital interfaces that connect man and machine. When it's not making electric hypercars, the Croatian startup also makes e-bikes under subsidiary brand, Greyp Bikes, which was founded in 2013.

"This partnership now is an important step for Rimac on our way to become a component and system supplier of choice for the industry in electrification, connectivity and the exciting field of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems," said Mate Rimac, CEO and founder of Rimac Automobili.

Four electric motors produce combined outputs of 1408kW and 2300Nm, making the Bugatti Chiron's 1103kW and 1600Nm seem almost meek by comparison.

The company claims the C_Two can sprint from 0-100km/h in an eye-watering 1.97 seconds, on its way to a top speed of 412km/h.

Additionally, Rimac claims its new hypercar can drive up to 650km per charge thanks to its 120kWh lithium-ion battery pack – which can also be replenished to 80 per cent from near-depleted in just 30 minutes using a 250kW fast-charging system.

While the performance claims are nothing short of impressive, the C_Two is also equipped with enough cameras and sensors to make it capable of Level 4 autonomous driving – eight on-board cameras, a lidar sensors, six radar emitters and 12 ultrasonic sensors.

Occupants are also treated to a fully-digital instrument cluster and large central touchscreen, with a facial recognition system employed "in lieu of a traditional key".